Paris.. Kota Cinta

I must say, the 2 hours train ride was so worth it.. The trip was a trip of love, not shopping. So hope no one is expecting any pics of shopping bags. :-)

We arrived at Gare Du Nord early in the morning and we were greeted by the hustle bustle of the station. PLEASE be cautious of the group of innocent looking ladies who runs in a group sometimes pretending that they want to do some kind of survey, they pick pockets. Or, there are also a bunch of boys in a group, also from the same origin, please be extra careful. The last thing you want would be losing your money or passport during such a romantic trip!

Since we were in Paris for only a few days, we took the 10 carnets ticket that can be used for 10 individual trips. Per ticket, per trip, per person.

You can buy it at any ticket machine you can find at any of the stations. I share the instructions below for your reference.I bought it on the train at the deck cafe on my way to Paris.

1.       Find available ticket machine

2.       below the screen you’ll find a roller (work just like a mouse scroll in computer)

3.       roll to menu “Acheter des tickets”, then press green button

4.       next screen will offer you to change language to English

5.       after language changed, now it is easier. There are 3 options: buy a single ticket, buy a carnette of 10 tickets, and buy the other tickets (such as ticket to Disneyland, and of course Mobilis card).

6.       Choose 3rd options: Billet ile-de-france, autres coupons

7.       Now choose Mobilis, then select which zone to cover (1 to 6 zones).

8.       Final step is to choose payment method, either coins or credit card (not all credit card works in this machine, you need to try to know. But credit card with chip is mandatory).

9.       After validating, your card will be available to pick at bottom of machine.

Paris during winter is all about the coffee and the croissant and the La Duree  macaroon... It will be something I miss the most, sipping coffee to heat up your body from the coldness. Coffee is part of the lifestyle of the parisians.

You'd miss their croissant when you return home as their croissants are crispy and nice, nothing like we have in our country.

So this is the icon that would be a must for anyone to visit. It was too cold and difficult for us to take too many picture by the eiffel. It is a beautiful setting by the river seine. There's alot of souvenir stalls along the street. I would say that they are reasonably priced and of good quality. You may proceed to buy your souvenirs here.

This is the famous Champs de Mars, it's around 5-10mins walk from Eiffel. 10 minutes from here would be Champs D Elysee

This is the street of Champs D Elysee where all the great boutiques are stationed. Be ready to splurge!

This is the interior of Gallery Al Fayette and yes, everything is expensive, BUT the handbags are way cheaper than it;s price in KL. Some of it is RM1k - RM1.5k cheaper

Buildings in Paris very much look alike.. It's exterior is mainly brown bricks but with lots of embellishment and gregorian decoration. 

 

You would be wondering on how do you re-claim your tax..
 

·       As a non-resident of the European Union, you are entitled to claim back the 12% tax you pay on your purchases..

Conditions (subject to government regulations):

-Have your passport attesting that you are a non-resident of the European Union
-Have remained six months or less in France at the time of your purchase
-Must be over the age of 15
-Purchases must total over 175.01 Euros made on the same day in the same store (Lafayette Coupole, Maison and Homme are considered one store)

Purchases made in the Louis Vuitton boutique cannot be cumulated with other purchases from Galeries Lafayette.

What to do when exiting the European Union:

- When exiting the European Union, the tax refund form must be validated by European Union Customs within three months of the purchase, at either the airport, train station or border point.
- Before checking your luggage, present the tax form together with your purchases, passport and transportation ticket for inspection by Customs. Failure to present these items will result in cancellation of the forms and a possible fine.
-Upon validation of your form by Customs, if you have selected a cash reimbursement, please proceed to the designated desk in the airport, train station or border point. For all other methods of reimbursement, you must post the pink sheet stamped by Customs within 6 months of the sale in the pre-paid T envelope provided and be sure to keep the other sheet as your customer copy. 


We stayed at a rented apartment that we booked via Housetrip. It's a beautiful place near avenue rene cote. As usual, we always make sure that we book somewhere near the metro station. Our station was Denfert- Ronchereau. It's a few stops from Eiffel on the same line.

It's a beautiful house with a true parisian feeling. It costs us around RM350/night and we could not ask for a better host than Astrid and Clement. 

There's a nearby sushi restaurant that we go to daily during our stay.. Not too many halal resto near the place we were staying, so sushi is the nearest option

Paris is a city of love... I would say, after Mekah and Madinah, as for me the 2 are still my number 1..
Life is about celebrating and appreciating love, be it for your Creator, your Prophet, your husband, your children or your family... It's the fuel that keeps us going. Take time to pause and think, have you really celebrated and appreciated love lately? Take time, before it's too late..

Till we talk again...